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20 Jul 2004 : Column 224W—continued

Probationary Police Constables

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the average annual cost of employing, training and developing a probationary police constable in the last year for which figures are available. [183993]

Ms Blears: Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary have estimated that the average salary, training and development costs of a probationary police constable up to independent patrol (which is normally 31 weeks after joining a force) in 2003–04 were £27,048. This figure includes salary costs of £13,993 per probationary police constable for that period and training and development costs of £13,055.

There are of course, associated employment costs for recruitment, supervision, accommodation, information technology and so on. However, these are not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Racial Equality

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost was of (a) publishing, (b) producing and (c) distributing the Racial Equality and the Smaller Business guide produced by the Commission for Racial Equality. [180500]

Fiona Mactaggart: HSBC sponsored the production of the guide and paid for the production of 100,000 CDs. The Post Office distributed it free of charge to small businesses. In addition, 44,417 PDF versions of the guide have been downloaded from the Commission for Racial Equality's website and 2,792 copies have been ordered from the stationary office. The Commission for Racial Equality paid for the Welsh version (£4,506). The only other cost to them was staff time.

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which other Government Departments were involved in producing the Racial Equality and the Smaller Business guide produced by the Commission for Racial Equality. [180501]


 
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Fiona Mactaggart: The Department of Trade and Industry was the only other Government Department represented on the Commission for Racial Equality's advisory group.

Street Crime (London)

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in the London area work specifically in tackling street crime. [184283]

Ms Blears: Information on the number of police officers specifically tackling street crime is not collected centrally.

Statistics on police strength are published every six months. Data for 30 September 2003 appeared in on-line report number 13/04. The latest available figures for 31 December 2003 were issued in Home Office Press Release 095/2004 on 2 March 2004.

Victims' Code of Practice

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration is being given to the inclusion of road crash and road crime victims in the Victims' Code of Practice. [183548]

Paul Goggins: The Victims' Code of Practice, provided for in the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Bill currently before Parliament, will place national obligations on criminal justice agencies to deliver specific services to victims of crime. Those bereaved as a result of death on the road will be entitled to the relevant police obligations and, where a charge is considered or brought, the relevant Crown Prosecution Service and courts' obligations. They will not, at present, be entitled routinely to the Code's personal support services, to be offered by Victim Support, as practice in this area is still being determined.

Last year, at a cost of some £500,000, we established three pilot sites to test different ways of organising and delivering services to road traffic victims. These pilots are subject to independent evaluation with a full report on their effectiveness envisaged for Summer 2005. Following this, we will need to consider, with voluntary sector partners and others, the key outcomes from the evaluation programme and how we can best implement a support service to address the needs of all those victimised by incidents on the road.

The victims' legislation clearly sets out the procedures for making revisions to the Code of Practice and it is likely that, because it is statutory, there will be regular updates to reflect front line developments. So if, as seems likely, it is not possible to include obligations to provide personal support services for road traffic victims in the initial version of the Code, which is likely to become fully operational during 2005, then we should be in a position to do so when it is revised for the first time.

Witness Protection

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the amount of police time allocated to supervising witness protection schemes. [184958]


 
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Ms Blears: This information is not currently available. The Home Office, in conjunction with the Scottish Executive, the Northern Ireland Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers, has appointed an independent consultant to carry out an assessment of witness protection arrangements nationally. The assessment is covering all cases where witness protection is afforded by UK law enforcement agencies including the police. It will provide us with valuable information about the numbers and circumstances in which witness protection is provided and the amount of police time allocated to it.

The assessment commenced on 2 January; it was announced in the White Paper 'One Step Ahead—a 21st century strategy to defeat organised crime' which I published on 29 March. The assessment is due to be completed over the summer, and a final report will be available in the autumn.

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether it remains his policy to acquire two British-built new aircraft carriers; and by what dates; [182002]

(2) what assessment his Department has made of the suitability of United States carriers to carry out each of the projected CVF tasks if purchased by the Royal Navy; [182004]

(3) what discussions his Department has held with United States counterparts concerning the possible purchase of US carriers for the Royal Navy. [182005]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 5 July 2004]: We remain fully committed to buying two new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy. There has been no change to our policy that Royal Navy warship hulls will be built in the United Kingdom. Given this position, we have not considered the possible purchase of United States carriers, nor have we therefore assessed the suitability of United States carriers to undertake projected CVF tasks. However, the Department regularly exchanges information with the US on our respective programmes, for example in areas such as the integration of the Joint Combat Aircraft. Our target in-service dates for the two carriers remain 2012 and 2015.

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the minimum (a) tonnage and (b) aircraft numbers to be operated from each future carrier to enable it to fulfil its strategic expeditionary role. [182003]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 5 July 2004]: The Ministry of Defence has not sought to fix the dimensions of the aircraft carriers during the assessment phase. The design of the ships will continue to evolve as we seek to balance the overall performance, time and cost parameters of this complex project as part of normal assessment phase activity. Decisions on the capability to be provided by CVF, including the number of aircraft capable of being deployed, and hence on the design and dimensions for the ships, will be taken at the Main Gate investment point.
 
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Iraq Medal

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers (a) are eligible for and (b) have received the Iraq Campaign Medal. [179022]

Mr. Caplin: It is estimated that 70,000 Service and civilian personnel are eligible for the Iraq Medal. As at 9 July, the Army Medal Office had received 18,728 applications for the Iraq Medal from Army personnel. Of these, some 1,600 applications have been approved and the majority of those medals have been issued.

Combat/Operational Clothing

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether appeal procedures apply to the contract for combat and operational clothing supplies DC4BESL/1002 Cut and Sew. [184360]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 15 July 2004]: There is no formal appeals procedure applicable to this contract.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where the bleaching, dyeing and printing of the fabric for the contract DC4BESL/1002 Cut and Sew will be carried out. [184347]

Mr. Ingram: Due to the variety of products being supplied under this contract there are a number of locations chosen by the Prime Contractor for the bleaching, dyeing and printing of fabric, including China, the United Kingdom and mainland Europe.


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